Voices

Bylined opinion and news columns published by United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute.

L’shana Tovah! United Hebrew Congregation navigates to a new venue as a new year begins

By Rabbi Jennifer Lewis
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I am awestruck at how much change has been happening for our United Hebrew Congregation community since my last visit to Terre Haute.

Moving from one home to another is never easy, but moving an entire congregation from the place where it worshipped, celebrated lifecycle events and welcomed visitors to a new (and smaller) home was a huge undertaking — oy! Mazel tov for making it this far, and let us pray for wisdom and understanding as we navigate our new beginnings in a new location.

My family and I have treasured these summer days, together and apart. For one week in July, my 17-year-old daughter and I went on a weeklong travel adventure to meet with a college friend of mine and her (now grown) daughters.

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During this period of counting the omer, we realize the value of counting on each other

By Rabbi Jennifer Lewis
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As I finish this column, we are almost halfway through the period of the Omer, on day 22 of 49 days (we count the Omer during the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot.)

It is customary to study Pirke Avot (Portions of our Fathers), which is a book contained in the Mishneh, part of Jewish oral tradition, during this period.

One of my favorite sayings from the book–also lyrics from a song I learned while a camper at URJ Greene Family Camp in Bruceville, Texas, many years ago–is a quote from Rabbi Hillel: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And, if not now, when?” (Avot 1:14).

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Rabbi Shoshana Cohen explains how the broken matzah teaches us to work toward redemption

By Rabbi Jennifer Lewis
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Although we have much to be happy about as Spring approaches and the natural world is coming back to life, the news about a new war between the U.S. (and Israel) and Iran is alarming.

Last year, we included in our UHC community seder an optional reading from Rabbi Shoshana Cohen of the Shalom Hartman Center in Jerusalem. She wrote the following passage about how the broken matzah that we eat during the Passover seder teaches us to work toward redemption in real time.

I share it with you in the hope that even in the midst of war, we continue to seek meaning in doing mitzvahs and spreading the Eternal Flame, even at times of duress.

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In time of war, pikuach nefesh compels us to ask: Can we justify our actions morally?

By Scott Skillman
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I have been doing some serious thinking about the attack on Iran by both Israel and the United States. In my research, I have found the following to be helpful in exploring an obvious dilemma: Can we justify our actions morally?

The prospect of an attack on Iran presents a complex ethical dilemma within Judaism, challenging the tension between the imperative to defend life and the prohibition against unjustified bloodshed.

While Jewish law prioritizes the preservation of life and permits pre-emptive, self-defensive actions against imminent threats, it also strongly emphasizes pursuing peace, proportionality, and avoiding unnecessary destruction.

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